Apparatus for treatment of ores and tailings.



PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906.

A. SODERLING. APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF ORES AND TAILINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY13.l905

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PATENTEDJUNE 5, 1906.

A. SODERLING. APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF ORES AND TAILINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13.19054 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 No. 822,398. PATENTEDJUNE 5, 1906. A. SODERLING.

APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF ORES AND TAILINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13. 1905.

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-Bodie, in the county of Mono and State of AUGUST SODERLING, OF BODIE,CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF ORES AND TAILINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1906.

Application tiled July 18,1905. Serial No: 269.459.

To all whom, it may concern,-

Be it known that I, AUGUST 'SODERLING, a citlzen of the United States,and a resident of California, have made a certain new and usefulInvention in the Treatment of Ores and Tailings; and. I declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

Figure 1 is a section on the line 1 1, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view,partly diagrammatic and partly broken away, of my apparatus. Fig. 3 is aview, on a larger scale, of a section of the apparatus. Figs. 4 and 5are detail perspective views of the sluice trough and its riffles.

The invention relates to the treatment of tailings or slimes of theprecious metals in connection with the cyaniding process; and itconsists in certain improvements upon the invention described in LettersPatent No. 636,114, dated October 3]., 1899, as hereinafter set forth.

In cases where tailings are very slimy or contain copper or other basemetals in various combinations which it is desirable to remove a weaksolution of nitric, sulfuric, hydrochloric, or other mineral acid may beemployed, as described in the Letters Patent referred to, or Weaksolution of certain salts, such as potassic chromate or any nitrate orchlorite or crude salts from alkaline plains, which would act assolvents in the separation of the base metals referred to; or dilutesolutions of organic acids, particularly oxalic acid, tartaric acid, oracetic acid, or of their salts, may be used to act as solvents for therebellious slimes or slimy tailings which otherwise would proverefractory in the subsequent cyaniding process. In this leaching processin order to effect an intimate mixture of the particles of the tailingsand the chemical solution necessary to proper economic results agitationof the mixture is required, which is provided for by means of steps orrifiles in the bottom of the trough or conveyer whereby the mixture isconducted to the settling-reservoirs. The agitation occasioned by thefalling of the mixture from one step or riflie of the trough to anotherduring a course of a mile or several miles has been found sufficient forthe purpose when the riffles or steps are each about eighteen inches inlength. This plan of agitation by gravity is particularly adapted tothis preliminary treatment because of its economic character. Afteragitation with the dilute solution and before cyaniding an alkaline washor leaching may be used when required.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating a plant for carrying out thispreliminary treatment upon a large scale, the letter M indicates thepile. of tailings to be reduced. Around the base of the pile isconstructed a ledge trough T, the inner edge of which is in contactwith. the pile and the outer portion of which is walled and communicateswith a trough U, leading to a set of crushing or pulverizing rolls R.

A stream of water conveyed through'a pipe C or otherwise is caused toplay upon the pile of tailings, which are thereby washed down into thecircumscribing trough T and through the trough U to the crushing-rolls,whereby the tailings are pulverized and discharged into the inclined.sluice-trough B, which is designed to extend for a long distance,according to the character of the work. This distance may vary from afraction of a mile to several miles. This trough is provided with ariflie-bottom (L and is designed. to ef fect an agitation by gravity ofthe mixture flowing along its bottom.

At the upper level, where the pile of tailings is located and near thecrushing-rolls, is placed a tank D, which contains a solution of acid orof acid salts, as hereinbefore mentioned. From this tank a pipe I)conveys the weak acid solution to the head of the trough B, where itenters the. mixture of particles of tailings and water from thecrushing-rolls and is conveyed with such mixture, with. which it becomesintimately mixed, to the settling-reservoirs at the lower level. Thepipe I) is provided with a valve 0 to regulate the flow of the acidsolution. In order still further to dilute this solution, near the endof the sluice-trough or at a point of branching there is provided awater-supply pipe (Z, which conveys water to the mixture in the trough.

The sluice-trough B is preferably made V form in cross-section and isdesigned to be without joint or crevice between its walls. To that endthe sections are cut entire from a log in such wise that severalsections can be cut from the same log. In the sections are placed themovable angular bottom pieces at, having a stepped or riffle surface e.The

length of each step of the riffle-surface is designed to be usuallyabout eighteen inches and the rise from step to step about two inches,more or less.

The sluice-trough B may be caused to branch at points where the diluting-water pipes discharge in order to carry the mixture easily. Thesetroughs finally discharge into the first reservoir or reservoirs E,which are designed for the purpose of settling the sands or particles ofthe tailings from the slimes or lighter mixture which is conveyed overby the overflow troughs or pipes f to the settling reservoir orreservoirs for such slimes, (indicated at F.)

All the water, acid slimes, tailings, and other matter brought down bythe sluicetrough are collected in the reservoirs E and F, where thecopper and other base-metal salts dissolved in the water being by thistime, throu h the agitation eifected in the sluicetroug s, fullyseparated and in solution are decanted off through the overflow-conduc-.

tors f into a tank or reservoir M, in which the last traces of theslimes are settled from the base liquids, which are decanted and runthrough a series of wooden troughs K, containing iron-scraps, on whi ohthe metallic copper will be deposited and saved as a precipitate, andother chemical compounds of value may also be saved by properappliances.

The sands and slimes settled in reservoirs E and F are sluiced by thehydraulic stream through the bottom conductors or sluices G into finalreservoirs H, wherein the preliminary treatment is concluded, and thesands and slimes are dried and cultivated and made ready for cyanidtreatment. In this manner it Will be seen that the tailings and slimesare first pulverized and thoroughly mixed by rolls, then mixed with asolution of acids or acid salts in proper amount to rovide for solutionof the base contents of t e same, then agitating the mixture by runningit through sluices or conductors for a considerable distance intosettling-reservoirs and freeing the same from base solutions, wherebythey are left in condition to be successfully treated by the cyanidprocess. and slimes can thus be treated and prepared in an economicalmanner on an extended scale, so that gold and silver can be extracted bythe cyanid process cheaply and effectively.

Large bodies of tailings The preliminary treatment described is designedto be effected at about one-eighth or one-tenth the cost of apreliminary treatment in a closed plant. The sands and slimes be ingsettled for the main part in separate reservoirs facilitate specialseparate cyanid treatments, especially for the slimes. As the slimes andtailings are thoroughly oxidized in the preliminary treatment, theextraction of the precious metals by subsequent cyaniding is designed toreach a higher percentage than heretofore practicable. The rifi'les inthe sluicing-troughs being removable they can be easily and convenientlycleaned of amalgam by lifting them out of the troughs and sweeping suchamalgam material into uicksilver-troughs placed at intervals along t eline of troughs. Through this preliminary treatment the zinc slimeresulting from cyaniding is designed to yield about half the cost ofconsumption of potassium cyanid per ton of tailings worked in mercury byretortingthe same before melting into reguluses and bullion bars.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

1. Apparatus for preliminary treatment of tailings and slimes,consisting of an inclined rifiied troughor conductor having at its upperend a water-supply, and pulverizingrolls, and a tank holding a weaksolution of solvent acids or acid salts, a dilution-water conductor nearthe lower end of said trough, and at its lower end settling-reservoirsfor sands and for slimes,final reservoirs for basemetal solutions andseparate terminal reservoirs for the sands and for the slimes,substantially as specified.

2. Apparatus for the treatment of tailings and slimes preliminary tocyaniding consisting of an inclined riffie-bottom trough or conductor,at the upper end thereof a water-supply, pulverizing-rolls and a tankfor a weak solution of solvent acids or acid salts, at the lower endthereof settling-reservoirs for sands and slimes, and an intermediatewater-discharge near the settling-reservoirs, substantially asspecified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST SODERLING. Witnesses N. H. GREGORY, M. Y. S. KIRKWOOD.

